Fading Away
by ktdid23
Summary: Bella Swan finds herself in an odd situation after her initiation goes horribly wrong. Full summary inside. Rated M for possible future chapters. AU
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So here's the new story I've been working on! This is my first attempt at writing vamp/human. I Hope you all enjoy it! **

**Summary: Bella Swan finds herself in an odd situation after her initiation goes horribly wrong. Now, Bella thinks she's dead once she realizes that no one can see her. But what happens when a strange family moves to town and they actually acknowledge her presence? Can they help her find out what is happening to her, or will it be too late?**

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Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.

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BPOV

I squinted into the darkness that surrounded us. The wind thrashed my long brown hair around, succeeding in creating a tangled mess. I shivered involuntarily due to the eeriness of our surroundings more than from the cold air. My chocolate brown eyes darted around the area, the darkness of the night effectively creating a sense of paranoia within me.

The dead growth of the area added onto the feeling of dread that was settling in my stomach the longer I stood here. Raindrops began to fall around us and one landed awkwardly on my eyelash when I stared up at the black sky. The only semblance of light being the full moon that shone above us. A sudden flash of lightening suddenly illuminated our surroundings briefly followed by a loud clap of thunder. I jumped at the sudden noise, hearing the chuckles from around me.

"You're not scared, are you _Bella_?" Lauren sneered.

"She's doing a lot better than you when it was your initiation," Angela snapped. "At least she hasn't cried for her _mommy _like you did."

Lauren huffed but chose not to respond. If I wasn't so freaked out, I would have found what Angela said funny. But as it was, I had no idea where they were taking me, and I was admittedly frightened of what I was going to have to do tonight.

I shivered as the wind picked up again, causing little goose bumps to erupt all over my arms. The more I thought about it, the more I regretted my decision to pledge for Sigma Theta Mu. If someone had told me in high school that I would be attempting to join a sorority when I got to college, I would have laughed in their face. I was never one for the dresses and parties and manicures. That just wasn't my thing.

Now here I am at age 18, in the woods in the middle of the night beginning my initiation into this sorority. I silently cursed the reason I'm in this mess, and she is currently standing beside me. My best friend Bethany was ecstatic when she received her rush information packet in the mail. She spent hours at my house discussing the different social sororities we would be rushing for. I almost groaned when I remembered _that_ conversation.

_Flashback_

"—_so what do you think?"_

"_Yeah sure," I said absentmindedly to Beth while I continued to make shapes out of the clouds. _

_I was currently lying on my back on my front lawn and staring up at the sky. Beth had some kind of packet in front of her that she was studying with incredible intensity. She had been droning on and on for the past couple hours about the pros and cons of each sorority. After the first ten minutes I had started tuning her out. This topic did nothing to hold my interest. Suddenly a highlighter was thrown at my head. I jolted upright and glared at Beth._

"_What was that for?" She ignored my question and got up to retrieve the highlighter she had just hurled at me._

"_Did you listen to a word I said?" She asked as she plopped back down on the grass. I sighed and lay back down on my back. _

"_You know I don't want to join a sorority Beth," I said for what felt like the hundredth time. _

_We had just graduated from Forks High and were enjoying our summer vacation. The two of us would be going away to the University of Washington in two short months and Beth had been talking nonstop about the different sororities we should pledge for._

"_Bella please. Please do this for me." I lifted my head and stared at her in shock. She was actually pleading with me. That was new for her._

"_You don't need me to do this. You can join without me," I reasoned. I didn't understand why she needed me to come with her. And for the life of me I couldn't understand why she wanted to join one in the first place._

"_Bella you're my best friend. I don't want to do this alone! It will be fun! Pleeeaassee?" I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut, dreading what would happen once I conceded._

"_Ugh fine!" I groaned. God I'm such a pushover. _

"_Yay!" Beth squealed while bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. I swear her mom gorged on pixy stix when she was pregnant with Beth. That girl is way too hyper for her own good. _

"_You owe me," I grumbled, causing Beth to laugh. "Why do you want to join one anyway?" I asked curiously. Beth sighed at my question._

"_Doesn't it bother you that we don't hang out with anyone else?" Beth asked me one of her own questions instead. _

_The two of us had not exactly been popular in high school. My T-shirts and faded jeans and chucks were hardly classified as trendy. I was pretty much classified as a social leper, so most of the other students tended to give me my space. As for Beth, her association with me cast her far away from the popular circle as well. I often wondered if that bothered her and I guess this answered my question. I guess when I think about it, I owe her for sticking by me. Maybe doing this will make it up to Beth and we'll actually have a social life for once. _

"_It will be fun Bells," Beth tried to reassure me. I snorted before I could stop myself. She ignored me and started flipping through her packet with renewed vigor._

"_Okay, so rush week—"_

"_Wait. What week?" I cut her off confused. Beth sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes._

"_Rush week is the week all of the girls pledging for the sororities will be going from one to the next. You decide which ones you want to pledge for after rush week is over. It's pretty much to get a feel for which sororities you like the best."_

"_You mean they're not all the same?" I asked, as my eyebrows shot up._

"_No Bells. They're not all the same," Beth said exasperatedly. "Okay so anyway, rush week will be from August 16__th__ to August 22__nd__. After rush week when you get a bid—"_

"_Wait. What?" I cut her off again. It's not my fault that I don't know the sorority lingo. Beth sighed again._

"_If the girls at one of the sororities like you, then they give you a bid. If you accept a bid, then you become a pledge for that sorority. Then you need to go through this whole process to become an active member." This sounded complicated._

"_Process?" I asked for clarification._

"_Yeah. You pretty much learn about the sorority at that time. Then, near the end of the semester, you have to go through some kind of initiation to be welcomed into sisterhood and you become an active."_

"_Initiation?" I swallowed thickly. I definitely did not like the sound of that._

"_Uh-huh. Each sorority is different. The initiation is kept secret from everyone except for the actives so the pledges don't know what is going to happen."_

"_Oh great," I gulped. "How do you know all of this anyway?" She blushed and scratched the back of her neck. _

"_Google," she muttered. I laughed at her answer. Of course she did her research. I should have known._

"_Wait, you said the girls will give you a bid if they LIKE you. What makes you think they will give ME a bid?" I asked, remembering the snide remarks people always made about me in high school._

"_Well you'll definitely need new outfits. I mean look at this." She thrust the packet in front of me. My eyebrows shot up and my jaw dropped as I stared in horror at the information I was reading._

"_You have got to be kidding me!" I screeched. "Pretty in pink Monday, sundress Tuesday? They're actually telling us what to wear on these days?" I asked incredulously. Beth shrugged as if them dictating what we wear was no big deal. _

"_Beth, I don't own anything pink!" I yelled. I took a deep breath to calm down. "What am I getting myself into?" I groaned. _

"_Don't worry so much. It will be fun. Trust me!" I rolled my eyes and threw the packet back at her._

"_Fine. What next?" I asked, dreading what else she would tell me. She grinned at me._

"_Alright. Now as for shoes—"_

_End of Flashback_

Needless to say, after rush week was over, we both got a bid to Sigma Theta Mu. The first semester of our freshman year at the University of Washington consisted of learning the sorority's songs and dances, taking part in community service and sisterhood events, and being dragged around to parties at the fraternity houses.

I didn't particularly enjoy these parties. Being hit on by drunken frat boys, watching people puke their guts out in the trash cans, and stepping over the hundreds of empty beer cans littering the floors at the frat houses is definitely not on my list of fun things to do.

Before I knew it, initiation was a day away. All of the pledges had been instructed to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, and something to sleep in to the sorority house where we were all going to have to spend the night. None of the actives told us why we needed to do this, which gave me a bad feeling about this whole thing.

I kept thinking this had something to do with the initiation process. After all, initiation was the following night. The fact that UW was a hazing free campus did little to calm my nerves. I knew that the sororities and fraternities still hazed their pledges. They just had to be secretive about it so that the school board wouldn't find out about it. I knew that if they were found out, they would risk losing their chapter.

All thirty-four of us pledges were crammed into one room for the night. It was such a tight fit, that we were all sleeping shoulder to shoulder. It was nearly impossible for me to get comfortable enough to get to sleep. I was _finally_ able to get to sleep after an hour of lying there, only to be woken up after what seemed like twenty minutes by Lauren's loud, nasally voice.

_Flashback_

"_Pledges, Get up!" I groaned along with the other girls as the room was suddenly flooded with light. _

_I opened my eyes sleepily and sat up, not knowing what was going on. None of the actives could give us any information because it was all some "secret" ritual or something. I kept picturing something happening like in the movie "The Initiation of Sarah" where the main character was sacrificed at some altar. Knowing me, that would be just my luck._

"_Grab your shoes. Don't bother getting dressed!" The president of the sorority, Lauren, barked orders at us. _

_I glanced out the window to see it was pitch black outside. It was probably two or three in the morning. I can't believe I let Beth talk me into this! Beth and I exchanged a nervous glance before we followed Lauren outside with the rest of the pledges. When we got outside, we saw a bunch of the actives congregated in front of the sorority house. I saw that a lot of the girls were holding pieces of cloth in their hands._

_I saw Angela who smiled and waved at me. I gave her a tentative smile in return. Angela Weber is a junior who is the active assigned as my big sis. I thought it was funny when someone explained what a big sis was to me. Apparently, each pledge was assigned a big sis who is an active. The "big sis" is supposed to help their "little sis" get acclimated to the sorority and be there for them. I was lucky to get Angela. She is probably the nicest girl here. _

"_Now, each pledge needs to find their big sis," Lauren started barking orders and waited for everyone to do as she said. I made my way over to Angela who gave me another smile before turning her attention back to Lauren. Once everyone found their big sis, Lauren continued telling us what to do._

"_Big sisters blindfold your little sisters!" I started panicking as my sight was cut off from me. Angela finished tying the blindfold in place so that I couldn't see anything. I guess that answers my question about what the pieces of cloth were for…_

"_Now, big sisters take your little sister's hand! We're going on a little trip." I could just picture the smirk on Lauren's face as she said this. _

_I gulped as I felt Angela take my hand. She started leading me in some direction after the others. It was a bit frightening being blindfolded and taken somewhere, especially at night. What made this situation worse was the fact that I was still wearing my panda bear printed pajama bottoms and the white tank top I had worn to bed. Considering the fact that it was November, I was freezing my ass off. _

_We had been walking for what felt like hours before we started slowing down. Suddenly, my sight was returned to me as Angela took off my blindfold. I blinked and looked around at my surroundings, feeling my stomach drop as I realized I was in the middle of the woods. It had just started raining too. This couldn't be good…_

_End of Flashback_

After all of us had our blindfolds taken off, we were told to gather around in a circle. Lauren and Jessica made their way into the center of the circle so that Lauren could address all of us.

"Pledges!" Lauren called all of our attention back to her. She looked almost smug at the sight of all of our frightened faces. "Your goal tonight is simple. You have five hours to make it back to the sorority house. If you aren't back by then, you might as well not return at all. Only those that return will be accepted into sisterhood. Consider this the beginning of your initiation." She paused when quite a few girls gasped.

This had to be some sick joke! They couldn't just leave us in the middle of the woods in winter of all times. We didn't even know where we were! How were we supposed to find our way back?

"Do any of you have a problem with that?" Lauren asked dangerously. She narrowed her eyes at us as if challenging us to object to what she was making us do. All of us remained silent.

"Good. Now all of you will be split up. You are not allowed to make any contact with the others. If we find out that you talked or even _looked _at one of the others, you will automatically be forced to leave and won't be accepted into Sigma Theta Mu." She narrowed her eyes at all of us as if warning us with just a look to follow her rules.

I saw Jessica Stanley grinning next to Lauren. Jessica is the vice president of this sorority. I could just picture the satisfaction she is getting out of scaring the shit out of all of us. This must be some kind of thrill for her. That's just how she is, taking pleasure out of other people's misery.

"Now, a bunch of you may be wondering how you are supposed to get back when you don't even know where you are," a few girls nodded in agreement to this. "There are clues dispersed throughout the area. Your task is to find these clues and figure out the riddles. If you do this correctly, it will lead you back to the sorority house with no problem. Once you uncover the clues, you must return them back to where you found them so the others can have a chance to find them also." She paused and looked around at all of us.

"Big sisters, blind fold your little sisters again," Lauren commanded. I saw Beth give me another nervous look before Angela secured the blindfold once more around my eyes. I almost groaned as my sight was cut off from me again.

"All of you pledges will be taken to your designated spot in the woods. You will be alone as soon as your big sister takes the blind fold off of you again. Remember, _no_ contact is allowed," Lauren stressed. "See you back at the house," she addressed us all as I felt Angela start to lead me in a different direction from the others. After a few more minutes, we stopped walking again. Angela finally took off the blindfold and gave me a reassuring smile once I could see.

"You'll be fine Bella," she said calmly. "We all had to do this at some point," she tried to reassure me. I gulped but nodded to what she said. I shivered again as the cold air hit my exposed arms.

"I'll see you when you get back," she winked at me before turning and walking away. I wanted to scream at her to come back. This was like some bad horror movie waiting to happen with all the girls alone in the woods at night...

I can't believe I got myself into this. Actually, I can't believe I let _Beth_ get me into this. Well, at least this is the last step until I'll be in Sigma Theta Mu officially. That is if I don't freeze to death first. I shivered again as I started walking in a direction I hoped would lead me to one of the clues. It's going to be a _long_ night.

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AN: I chose to use Sigma Theta Mu as the sorority Bella tries to rush for. I didn't want to use an existing sorority in case I would offend someone who is in it or knows someone in it. I'm pretty sure Sigma Theta Mu doesn't exist but I'm not 100% sure about that. If it exists, I'm sorry. I tried. lol

**I bet a lot of you can tell that things aren't going to go so well in the next chapter… I'll try to have it out as soon as possible! **

**Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I can't believe I actually got two of my stories updated in one day! I don't think that's ever happened before…**

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**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight**

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BPOV

"Goddamn it!" I screamed, as I tripped over yet _another_ rock causing me to go tumbling to the ground.

I put my hands out to brace my fall, only to scrape my hands on the unforgiving ground. I looked at my palms once I had pulled myself to my feet and groaned as I saw the blood. Wincing, I pulled out some of the tiny rocks from my scrapes, appraising the damage done to my hands. At least the scrapes were shallow. This night just keeps getting better and better. Note the sarcasm.

To make matters worse, the thin cotton pajama pants and the tank top I was wearing provided no comfort from the raging winds and the icy raindrops that were cascading down around me in a constant stream. I might as well have been running around the woods naked. It probably wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference anyway.

A foggy mist appeared every time I exhaled, showing just how cold it truly was. My hands and toes had long since gone numb, and my ears were starting to meet the same fate. I rubbed my hands together, trying in vain to get them warmed up with some friction. I crossed my arms across my chest and hunched my shoulders in an effort to preserve my body heat. My teeth had started chattering viciously while my body was wracked with violent tremors.

I made my way aimlessly past the countless trees, probably getting myself more lost in the process. This is ridiculous! I'm starting to think that they don't even have any clues out here. That would be just great. I could just imagine them back at the sorority house, laughing their asses off about the unsuspecting initiates being dumped in the woods without knowing how to get back.

Why did I want to join a sorority again? Oh that's right. I _didn't_ want to, _Beth_ did! She is so dead when I get back! I can't believe I let her talk me into this! Wow. That's about the hundredth time I've thought that tonight.

I squinted up ahead as I saw something white hanging from a branch on a tree directly in front of me. I practically ran to it, almost giddy with the idea of finding a clue and being one step closer to getting back into my warm sleeping bag back at the sorority house.

When I reached the supposed clue, I saw that it was a white envelope with the number 1 written on it. It was tied to a small branch with red ribbon. I reached a trembling hand up, unable to stop the shivers from running through my body at this point, and untied the note from the tree. After I opened the envelope, I extracted the note, being careful as I unfolded the damp paper.

After the note was unfolded, I groaned in annoyance at the sight of the smudged words on the paper. Whoever thought it would be a good idea for the initiates to try and find their way out of the woods with partially destroyed clues has some serious problems in the head. I shook my head as I read the clue to myself, thankful that I could still make the words out.

_When LEFT in the woods, it's important to keep an eye on the ground. _

I read the clue five more times. That's it? That's supposed to help me find my way out of here? I read it again, stopping on the word "left," wondering why it was the only word in all capitals. I internally face palmed myself. _I guess they want me to go left. _

"This j-just k-k-keeps get-t-ting stupider and-d stupid-d-der," I groaned to myself, my teeth chattering together violently as another tremor wracked through my body, making it impossible to get clear words passed my lips. It will be a miracle if I don't freeze tonight!

Turning to my left, I thought over the other part of the clue. _Keep an eye on the ground._ I guess I know where the next clue will be. I rolled my eyes as I started searching the ground for another clue as I made my way through the woods.

At least it had stopped pouring, and was now only lightly drizzling. That fact didn't bring much comfort to me considering I was currently soaking wet from the downpour which made the cold, winter air a hundred times worse. My tank top was soaked through and clinging to me, making it seem as if a thousand knives were piercing my skin with each step I took.

I was just starting to think that maybe I had missed the clue and was deciding whether or not I should double back, when I caught sight of something white in the distance. I almost did the annoying high-pitched sorority squeal, before I stopped myself and internally smacked myself upside the head. Great. They're rubbing off on me now…

As I got closer to the envelope, I saw that a rock was sitting on it, holding it down so it wouldn't go flying away in the wind. I reached down and moved the rock and picked the next clue up, seeing a number 2 on the front of the envelope. After opening the envelope up, I proceeded to carefully peel the paper apart as I unfolded it, not wanting to destroy my only hope of getting the hell out of here.

After I had successfully opened the damp note, with only minor tears forming in the paper, I sighed in annoyance as I gazed at the smudged words. It took me a while to be able to figure out what the smeared words said, but I finally managed to make them out.

_What goes up must come down._

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Well, that was cryptic… I read the clue again and then looked up, half expecting the note to come falling out of the sky. No such luck.

I read the clue a few more times, before I looked around at my surroundings. _Well, I can't go up…so maybe I'm supposed to go down? But down where?_ I looked around again, my eyes catching on a small slope up ahead.

I hesitantly walked forward towards the small slope in the ground, appraising the decline warily. That definitely doesn't look klutz friendly. Finally making up my mind to just get this over with so I could leave this place, I slowly started walking down the slope, leaning my weight back in an effort to keep myself from falling forward as I made my descent.

It was no use though. As I neared the bottom of the slope, my feet got tangled up and I went sprawling the rest of the way down. I instinctively put my hands out in front of me to brace my fall, hissing as my scraped-up palms made contact with the rough ground _again_**, **causing the scabbed-over cuts to open up.

I pulled myself into a sitting position and glanced at my stinging hands. Well if the cold doesn't end up killing me, I'm sure my klutziness will do the job perfectly.

I was about to stand back up when a twig snapped somewhere up ahead. My head whipped up in response to the sudden noise. I squinted into the darkness, trying to search for the source of the sound. Not seeing anything, I shrugged it off and pulled myself to my feet. I groaned as I looked down at myself. There was mud caked all over my pajama pants as well as tears in the fabric, and I'm pretty sure my white tank top was see through at this point.

Another twig snapped, sounding closer, causing my breathing to speed up. _Ok. Calm down Bella. It's probably just a harmless bunny._ I tried to reassure myself.

Being alone in the woods in the dark is starting to make me paranoid. I almost laughed at myself for being so ridiculous. I guess I've watched one too many horror movies…

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I gasped and twirled around at the sound of the deep voice. I backed away when I came face to face with a man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties. He was smiling, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness making my fear increase. There was something off about him…

He had his blond hair up in a ponytail and had his head tilted to the side as he looked at me. I was seriously starting to get creeped out. I watched as his eyes closed and he took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring in the process.

"Mmm…you smell delicious," he said suddenly, opening his eyes and giving me that creepy smile again. I was frozen to the spot, like a mouse locked in the eyes of a snake. "What do you think, Victoria?"

I gasped as a woman with flaming red hair landed in front of me on the balls of her feet. Had she been sitting up in a tree this whole time? The alarm bells were going off in my head as she took a whiff of the air like the man had.

"She'll be a tasty one," the woman agreed in a bell-like voice, causing my confusion and fear to skyrocket. If possible, their grins widened as my dread increased. Their red eyes watched as I took a few shaky steps backwards. Wait. _Red_ eyes? What the hell?

"I can smell your fear," the male said, his nostrils flaring again. It looked as if his eyes darkened as he sniffed the air again. I took another shaky step back. Something was definitely not right…

"W-what do you want?" I whispered, surprising myself that I was actually able to get a sentence out in my fear induced state. The man grinned and took a step closer to me.

"You," he said simply. My eyes widened in alarm at that simple word.

"Do you two always have to play with your food before you eat it?" Another male voice asked, sounding highly exasperated.

My eyes widened even more at his words. What the hell? _Food?_ Are they cannibals or something? That thought made me feel nauseous and I could practically feel the bile rise up my throat.

I watched as the blond male turned a slightly annoyed gaze onto the other man who had just spoken. This new man joined their little group, turning to face me, appraising me with his red eyes. Maybe they're contacts? Okay. So that explains _one_ thing…

He had black dreadlocks and was darker skinned than the other two, but still seemed to have the same odd paleness to his skin that the others possessed. To my horror, I saw him lick something red off of his fingers. That couldn't be what I think it is…could it? Maybe they're a part of some cult. My brain was in overdrive trying to figure out an explanation for this alarming situation I now have found myself in.

"It's so much more fun this way," the woman said silkily in response to this new man, stepping closer to me with a sneer on her inhumanly beautiful face as she looked me over. "The fear makes the blood sweeter." I don't think it would be possible for my eyes to get any bigger. At this rate, they'll pop right out of my head.

"Victoria," the blond male barked. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face the man. "This one's mine. Go get one of the others," he said, not taking his gaze away from me. The woman pouted at his words but backed off none the less, walking gracefully to his side.

_Others?_ I was going over what he had said before I suddenly felt the blood drain out of my face. Oh shit! I completely forgot about the other girls that are unknowingly in the same predicament as me. My eyes flickered to the side, debating if I could make a run for it, thinking I could try and find the others to warn them. The blond male seemed to find my actions funny for some reason and started laughing. The sound sent a shiver down my spine, and this time it wasn't from the cold.

"You can't outrun me," the male stated arrogantly with that same eerie smile crossing his face, correctly assuming what I had been thinking. My eyes kept flickering from his face to the side, mentally estimating my chances at escape, ignoring his words. I was always a pretty fast runner…

"Alright," he said with another laugh as his red eyes continued to watch my every move. "You don't believe me? I'll give you a ten minute head start." My eyes widened in disbelief. Is this some kind of trick? "Go!" The man finally ordered as I continued to stand rooted to the spot.

His words seemed to do the trick as my legs unfroze themselves and I took off through the woods without a second thought.

The trees whipped by me, the wind tossing my hair around my face as I ran faster than I ever had before. This would be so much easier if I actually knew where the hell I was. For all I knew, I could be traveling deeper into the woods.

Damn Lauren and this stupid initiation process! If it wasn't for Beth's idea to join Sigma Theta Mu in the first place, I would be safe and warm in my bed, not hurtling through the woods, running from some horrible fate.

I still didn't understand what those people wanted with me, but I definitely knew it couldn't be good. And I couldn't seem to stop the nagging thought that there was no way I would be able to get away from them. Otherwise, that man probably wouldn't have given me that head start. This thought made me push myself faster.

I could practically feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I quickened my pace. It was a miracle that my klutziness wasn't getting in the way for once. I guess my body was finally cooperating with me in reaction the danger I was currently running from.

I barely even gave much thought to the direction I was running to, my only thought was to get away from those people with the red eyes and pale skin, who apparently have a thing for blood. I pushed myself faster as I heard a twig snap from behind me. Not even paying attention to where I was running, it was no surprise that I didn't see the drop up ahead. Too late, I realized there was a massive slope as my feet slanted at a weird angle due to the uneven ground, a startled gasp escaping me.

Without warning, my feet were no longer under me as I went tumbling down the incline, hearing a pop and feeling a searing pain as my wrist made contact with the ground, snapping it in an unnatural angle. My head connected with the ground over and over again as I tumbled my way down the hill, causing spots to erupt in front of my eyes. However, the pain from my wrist and head was a fleeting memory as I was suddenly submerged into the freezing cold water of a stream at the bottom of the slope, the water so much deeper due to the rainstorm.

I gasped at the shock of the cold water, immediately regretting that action as the muddy water flooded into my mouth. I tried to kick up to the surface, panicking as I felt my ankle get caught in something below the murky water. My lungs screamed in protest as I struggled to get to the surface for some much needed air.

This couldn't be happening! I couldn't have gone through all of the running away from the man with the sinister smile only for me to drown in a stream! I kicked and thrashed, trying to get my ankle freed from whatever was trapping me below the water. Dark spots danced in front of my sight as my movements became less frantic and my eyes became heavier. I fought to stay conscious, knowing that it would be bad to give in to the darkness that was threatening to take me.

I eventually lost the fight to stay awake as my lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. My last thoughts were of those frightening people with the red eyes as everything went black.

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AN: Jasper will be making an appearance in the next chapter!

**The next story I'll update will be Blue Skies.**

**Please let me know what you thought about this one! Thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts!**

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**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight**

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BPOV

I bolted upright gasping for air, utterly perplexed when air actually filtered into my lungs instead of the murky water I had been submerged in. I looked around in confusion when I saw that I was safe and sound in my sleeping bag at the sorority house. I released a shaky breath, relieved that it was just a dream. _It felt so real…_

I could almost taste the muddy water in my mouth and feel the cold water surrounding me. A choked laugh passed through my lips at how ridiculous I was being, but a part of me couldn't stop the shudder that ran down my spine at the thought of those people with the red eyes that my mind had for some reason conjured up.

I shook my head at myself as I unzipped the sleeping bag and stood up from my spot on the floor. My subconscious could really be messed up sometimes. I didn't know what I had been thinking before going to bed last night for me to think up such a bizarre dream.

I glanced around the room to find that I was the only one there. I was surprised to see that I had been the only one still sleeping. Normally I got up pretty early. _I wonder why no one woke me up._

I shrugged that thought off and decided to try and find someone. The house was unusually quiet this morning which was strange. Normally, "quiet" wasn't something I would say in reference to the sorority house.

I made my way to the half-opened door and entered the deserted hallway. The seemingly vacant house was disconcerting. Surely there had to be someone around… I was becoming more and more uneasy the longer I searched the various rooms, investigating for some sign of life. What could have possibly caused the girls to abandon the house without telling me?

But, as I passed the large window in the entryway of the house, I stopped dead in my tracks. Apparently the girls hadn't left, for they all seemed to be gathered in the front yard. My worry spiked as I took in the state of my so called "sisters." Some were crying their eyes out, while others looked like they were in some sort of shock. As I stared at this scene through the window, I jolted in surprise when I saw that there were at least a dozen cop cars in front of the sorority house. _What the fuck happened here? _

I hesitantly walked towards the front door, pulling it open and heading outside so that I could find out what the fuck was going on. But my uncertain steps quickened when I caught sight of Beth.

She was talking to an officer, but it looked like she could barely form words. She was sobbing hysterically, tears running down her blotchy face as she apparently struggled to get words out. The cop was wearing a sympathetic expression as he jotted down notes in a notepad. I didn't even think twice about how rude it would be to interrupt, before I skidded to a halt next to her.

"Beth! What's going on?" I asked worriedly, hoping to get some answers.

She didn't even acknowledge my presence as she continued to talk to the cop, who didn't even glance in my direction either as he continued to jot notes down.

"Damn it Beth! Tell me what's going on!" I yelled.

She didn't even flinch away from the loud sound of my voice. Frustrated, I turned away from her, intent on getting someone else to tell me what happened. I glanced around at my other "sisters" and saw that they weren't in much better shape than Beth was. Some of them were holding onto each other as they sobbed while some others were also talking to the cops.

I made my way over to Lauren, who was standing off to the side. Her eyes were scanning the scene before her. She almost looked like she was in shock. I stopped in front of her.

"Lauren, why are the cops here?" I asked, my voice taking on a pleading tone. She ignored me just like Beth did. I threw my hands up in frustration.

"Why are you ignoring me? Tell me what's going on!" I demanded, half expecting her to sneer at me like usual. Instead, she continued to ignore me as she stood there. It was almost as if she was looking through me.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I need to speak to you for a moment," a female officer addressed Lauren.

She nodded and turned her back on me, giving her attention to the cop. I huffed in irritation and made my way back to Beth. These people were treating me as if I was invisible. No one even glanced in my direction as I maneuvered my way through the crowd that was gathering. Beth was still blubbering to the cop when I got back to her side.

"There was a scream," Beth was saying as she wiped at her cheeks to rid them of her tears. "I ran to see what caused it, when—" She choked off on a sob. "Her lifeless eyes were just staring up at me when I got there," Beth croaked. Her eyes were unfocused as if she was in some other place altogether. "Blood, so much blood!" She sobbed uncontrollably.

"Who was it?" I enquired in no more than a whisper, horrified at what I was hearing.

"Danielle Miller," Beth answered. I thought she was answering my question, but it seems that the officer asked it at the same time I did, because he jotted it down in his notepad.

I gawked at her. Danielle Miller was one of our fellow pledges. What the hell happened to her? I waved my hand in front of Beth's face to get her attention.

"Beth Beth Beth Beth Beth BETH!" I chanted, giving up when she continued to ignore me. "AHHH!" I screamed in frustration. "Can someone please tell me what is going on?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. No one even glanced in my direction.

Maybe this was some kind of prank, a part of the hazing ritual. I shook my head from side to side. No, that couldn't be it. I could believe the sorority girls would pull something like this, but what stumped me was the involvement of the cops. Surely they wouldn't take part of some stupid sorority prank…

I watched as the cop talking to Beth, closed his notepad and thanked her for her cooperation before heading away. Without another thought, I began following him. Maybe I could figure out what was going on if I tailed him. It was worth a try.

"Officer Marks," a female cop called to the officer I had been following. He turned in the direction of the voice. I continued to follow him as he made his way over to where she was standing, by one of the police cars, away from the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" The male cop asked curiously. "I thought you were investigating the robbery at the Circle K." The female cop waved her hand dismissively.

"Chief Collins asked me to help out here. He said he wanted as many of his officers on this case. He said to have you brief me in what's going on." The male cop nodded and sighed heavily, looking as if he had aged ten years in the past few minutes.

"There has been one known killing and three disappearances. From what I have gathered, no one has seen these three girls since early this morning." The female cop nodded to show that she was following along.

"The forensics team and some of the guys from the force have been investigating the area where the girls seemingly disappeared from, but so far there is no evidence of foul play, besides the body of Danielle Miller of course." he said grimly. "This situation is getting out of hand."

"Brian," the female officer said in a softer tone, forgoing her previously formal tone, "do you think this is linked to what's happened in Oregon and Bellevue?" The male officer, Brian, glanced around as if looking to see if anyone was within hearing range before turning back to her.

"This may be bigger than we originally thought. I haven't heard of this many killings in one area since Ted Bundy. And ironically enough, he also attended the University of Washington," Brian glanced around, as if indicating the UW campus with his pointed stare, before turning back to the female cop. "Patty, with the number of deaths we are facing, we might be dealing with a serial killer." The other cop, whose name I now knew to be Patty, nodded wearing a grim expression.

"I was thinking the same thing." She paused as if in thought. "Do any of the victims have some kind of resemblance?" He shook his head 'no', a confused look taking over his face.

"That's the weird thing. The victims have been male and female, different heights, hair color, eye color, and ethnicity. There are no similarities among them, and the way they were killed—" he trailed off grimly.

"It looks like whoever is doing this gets off on the pain of their victims. Some of the bodies we have found have been mutilated past the point of recognition. In some cases, dental records had to be used in order to identify the bodies." He paused, his eyebrows knitting together. "But the odd thing is that all of the bodies appear to have been drained of all their blood."

"I heard about that part," Patty said, wearing a disgusted expression. Brian sighed again. "Do you know if there was any sexual assault to the victims?"

"So far, there haven't been any signs that the victims were sexually assaulted. We're still waiting on the Coroner's report on Danielle Miller, but this doesn't appear to be a sex crime."

"We should put out an alert to warn people not to wander around alone until we know what is going on," Patty said quietly. Brian nodded in agreement.

"In any case, we need to contact the missing girls' parents," Brian said wearily. "There appears to be three missing girls at this time. Madison Hall, Casey Philips, and Isabella Swan." I stared at the cop in shock, not believing what I was hearing.

"I'm right here!" I yelled, growing more panicked as the two officers completely disregarded me.

"Chief Swan's daughter?" Patty asked, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline.

"You know her father?" Brian asked. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, we were in the academy together." She shook her head sadly. "This is going to devastate him. I'll talk to Chief Collins about the possibility of me going to Forks to break the news to him. It might help a little to have a familiar face tell him, if only a little." Brian nodded.

I looked back and forth between the two officers. Maybe this was all some fucked up dream, and I'd wake up and be back in my bed at the dorm at any moment. I closed my eyes and counted to three, praying that I would find myself safe and sound in my bed. But these hopes were dashed when I opened my eyes again, seeing that I was in the same spot with the cops.

My breathing picked up as I started to panic. I almost expected to start seeing spots the longer I hyperventilated, but they never appeared, and soon my attention was caught by something else.

Seven, inhumanly beautiful people were standing off to the side of all the commotion, staring at the scene with varying expressions. They all looked different from one another, but undeniably alike at the same time.

There was something familiar in their features, which caused warning bells to go off in my head. Their pale skin and perfect, chiseled features reminded me of those horrifying people in the woods. The only difference seemed to be their eyes, which were an unusual color of topaz, instead of the haunting red I had encountered. This realization had me relaxing infinitesimally, but I couldn't seem to get over the striking similarities between these people and the people I came across early in the morning.

There was a blond man, who looked like he was in his mid twenties. He was staring at the chaos in the front of the sorority house with an expression full of concern. It looked as if he wanted to go ask if he could help, but he held himself back.

The woman, who was holding his hand, seemed to be a little older than he was. She had caramel colored hair and was surveying the scene with the same worried look on her face. There was a motherly air about her that made me smile.

Next, my gaze locked onto an extremely muscular boy with short, curly brown hair. He looked like he could be a professional wrestler, which gave him an intimidating appearance. He was wearing such an excited look as he stared at the scene of mayhem. I wondered if he got some kind of thrill from such chaos.

He was holding hands with a beautiful blond woman, who suddenly made a feeling of insecurity wash over me. She was staring at the scene with what could only be classified as boredom.

The next one I laid my eyes on was a youthful looking boy with bronze colored hair. The only way to describe him was to say he was _beautiful_. I almost laughed at that thought. He only had eyes for the tiny pixie-like girl standing next to him, as he stared at her with obvious concern. The girl looked like she wanted to cry the longer she stood there. _I wonder what made her that sad… _

But, that thought flew out of my mind at the sight of the boy standing next to her. He looked like he was a few years older than me as well. He wasn't as muscular as the boy who was hand in hand with the blond supermodel, but he was by no means lanky either. It looked like he was also packing some serious muscle, but it wasn't over-the-top. It was _perfect_. He was tall, about 6'3" or 6'4" and I found myself wanting to run my fingers through his blond hair to see if it was really as soft as it looked. I felt like I was going to drool as I continued staring at him. He was, at least in my opinion, the hottest one there. _It didn't look like he was with anyone… _

I was brought out of my fantasies by the sound of the smallest girl's voice. I couldn't help but compare the musical quality her voice held, to the voices of the three people I encountered earlier. I couldn't stop the shudder that ran down my spine at that thought.

"We're too late," she whispered so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. "Oh Jasper." She turned to the attractive younger blond male with a look that was a mixture of despair, worthlessness and _pity_.

"Alice, I don't understand," the boy named Jasper said, frustration and confusion evident in his tone. His voice, although musical, was by all definitions _manly_. I tried to ignore the pleasant tingle that spread down my spine at the sound of his voice. "What was so important that we had to leave Alaska and come running to Seattle?"

The pixie-like girl ignored his question and was quiet for a moment. But suddenly, she turned to the others in one fluid motion, which seemed almost too fast to be normal. Her countenance suddenly exuded determination.

"We need to join the search party," she declared. "She could still be alive. She _has_ to be." This last part was said quietly, almost as if she were talking to herself.

"Alice," the bronze-haired boy murmured, bringing an arm around her shoulders and tucking her into his side. "Do you see anything that could help?" _What a strange question to ask someone…_

She shook her head from side to side and huffed in annoyance.

"That's what's frustrating!" She cried. "I'll get flickers now and then, but nothing concrete. It's giving me a headache!" Almost as if to emphasize her point, she brought her hands to her head and massaged her temples.

"What's so important about Isabella Swan anyway?" The blond female asked with a sneer. I reeled at the sound of my name. "This is a waste of time!"

Shock filled me as I came to the realization that they were talking about _me_, someone they had never met before. A multitude of emotions slammed into me the longer I stood there. Confusion. Uncertainty. Shock. And of course, the always present feelings of loneliness and despair as I thought about the very real possibility that I was _dead_ and would never see my family and friends again. I mean, what other explanation could there be? No one could see me, and I was coming to the conclusion that apparently my "dream" had in fact been real. _No one_ could have survived what happened to me in those woods.

As those emotions began to strengthen around me, Jasper swiveled his head and looked straight at me. _What the…? Could he see me?_ I wanted to jump for joy at that thought. Finally someone was actually acknowledging my presence!

As I stared into his topaz eyes, I couldn't help but become mesmerized. A feeling of warmth started to spread throughout my body. I almost expected him to turn away, but he continued to hold my gaze. He tilted his head to the side as if he was studying me, and a furrow appeared on his forehead. His gaze traveled over my attire before meeting my eyes again.

I glanced down at myself, and gasped as I realized I was still wearing my tank top and panda bear print pajama bottoms that were covered in mud. _I guess you don't get a change of clothes when you die._ I mentally scowled at that thought and shyly met his gaze again.

"Alice," he started slowly. "What does Isabella look like?" Alice stared at him with a small frown on her face.

"Brown hair, brown eyes. Hmm… Maybe 5'3" or 5'4" in height. Why?" She inquired, before glancing in the direction that he was still looking. "And what are you staring at?" He ignored her question and asked one of his own.

"Does she by any chance have a small scar a little below her lip?"

I reached up and touched the scar that I had had since I was thirteen. It was in one of my more clumsy moments when I tripped over my feet while descending the stairs at my home in Forks. When I had landed at the bottom of the steps, I somehow managed to bite all the way through my lip and had to go to the emergency room for stitches. Alice looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head.

"How did you know that?" Alice demanded. Jasper paused before grabbing her arm and turning her in the right direction, so that if she looked straight ahead, she would spot me with no problem.

"Is that her?" He asked, continuing to keep his eyes locked on mine. The others spun in the direction he was pointing, and the boy with the bronze-colored hair gasped.

"It's her!" He exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. The others seemed to be able to see me too, all for the exception of Alice. She was looking extremely frustrated the more she tried to catch a glimpse of me.

"What the hell is going on?" Alice exclaimed. _My sentiments exactly..._

* * *

**AN: So…not sure if I particularly like this chapter, but it was necessary to get some things explained before things can start to pick up. Sorry if there are mistakes in this one, but I went over it so many times that I couldn't look at it any more... **

**I actually got this idea from a movie I watched a while ago called **_**The Invisible**_**, so if you've seen that movie you'll know which direction I'm going to take this story. **

**And if you haven't seen it already, I posted a poll on my profile to see which story you all would like me to focus more on. I am NOT giving any of my stories up, but whichever story wins in the poll, will be my #1 priority. So if you have a minute, and haven't already, please go vote!**

**I am also starting to post on my profile which story I am currently working on and when it should be posted.**

**Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter!**

**~Katie~**


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